With all there is to do when planning and preparing a Thanksgiving meal, it can be a daunting, stressful experience for some. I get it. My next adapted recipe from the Williams Sonoma catalog is an easy, no bake cheesecake.
Because when you do go to the town bakery, or the health food store looking for something delicious that’s gluten free, dairy free, AND soy free … well there usually isn’t anything. And then add egg free or vegan to the mix, and your chances of finding a tasty prepared dessert are slim to none. And if there is a cake or pie, it usually costs a small fortune. Some rural areas don’t even know what gluten free is – I’ve gone through that before when looking for a treat at a grocery store! Yes, really.
Homemade is cheaper, better for you and not filled with those shelf-stable ingredients. And this is recipe is so easy! Seriously. It will become a regular at your house. I love to prepare this when I want to make a beautiful stand out dessert, but I am already preparing many dishes, and the oven can only fit so much. This is an entertaining-make-ahead-recipe you will be so glad to have in your recipe log. Did I just say log? Okay.
Though I didn’t really adapt this recipe from Williams Sonoma in the traditional sense by baking it in the oven, I wanted to make an easy, no-bake pumpkin cheesecake. The original recipe I was inspired to adapt is on page 50 …
I did feel it was a recipe that felt similar with the pumpkin spice flavors of Williams Sonoma – sprinkled cinnamon, ginger spice crust, and all – so I am sharing this as my adapted recipe, if you will. I added the whipped topping (instead of brittle as pictured) that So Delicious came out with this year. Frankly I’ve missed whipped topping for too long to add anything but.
A few specific products pulls this recipe together in no time. And no bake. No bake for Thanksgiving. But only if you like creamy, pumpkin spice filling with a ginger spice filled cookie crust that melt-in-your-mouth … enjoy!
Serves 8
You will need an 8 inch springform pan
Ingredients:
2 boxes Enjoy Life Snickerdoodle Cookies
2-3 tablespoons coconut oil (not melted)
1 15-ounce can organic pumpkin puree
1 container So Delicious CocoWhip, softened in refrigerator
1 tablespoon pumpkin spice
1 8-ounce Daiya Plain Cream Cheese
Ground cinnamon for garnish
Extra CocoWhip for garnish
Preparation:
Put all the cookies into a food processor, mix until fine crumbs. Add to a large bowl. Add coconut oil. Press coconut oil into the crumbs until it forms a dough-like texture, then press into the bottom of a springform pan, and up the sides. As you press, gently spread to thin out to about a 1/4 inch crust. Chill in freezer.
Meanwhile, in a stand mixer set with a paddle attachment on medium, combine cream cheese, pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice until just combined well.
Fold in CocoWhip. Transfer into chilled crust. Put it back in the freezer and chill for at least another hour before serving.
Note: The cheesecake will not hold it’s shape if not chilled in the freezer for at least an hour. Preferably, two hours.
Note: This freezes well for up to a month, without the cinnamon sprinkle. I made this a few weeks ago to test as a make ahead freezer recipe, and had some today. It tasted the same as the first day. I plastic wrapped it 3 ply, then sealed in a freezer safe jumbo ziploc bag pushing the air out of the bag.
Even though I took it out of the freezer 5 minutes before serving the first slice, it is still creamy, yet firm enough to hold shape.
Sift cinnamon (not sprinkle from the bottle or you will get clumps) over the cheesecake, add a dollop of whipped topping before serving.
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